1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to food utensils, and more particularly, to a dining plate having means thereon to facilitate the handling of food with an auxiliary utensil.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is generally known to provide attachments to dinner plates which serve as abutment members against which food my pushed by a utensil, such as a fork, to facilitate placing the food on the utensil. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,986 discloses a resilient molded plastic member adapted to snap-fitted on the rim of a conventional dinner plate to serve as an abutment against which food may be urged eventually to be scooped up with a fork or similar utensil. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,278 discloses a ring of somewhat flexible material having a V-shaped cross-section adapted to be fitted on the rim of a standard dinner plate. The rim so fitted serves as a bumper retaining food on the plate. While these prior patented devices generally are directed at solving the problem of retaining food on the surface of plate so that a utensil might more efficiently remove food from the plate's surface, they suffer from substantial drawbacks. Thus, the prior devices are not structurally integrated with the plate and must be fitted about the rim thereof. This requires additional pieces of equipment increasing the chance that the food retaining device might easily be misplaced and in any event, requires extra storage space. In addition, the removable retainers of the prior art must be resilient so that they may be snap-fitted on the rim of plate. This requires, in turn that they be made of a rubbery or plastic material (i.e. not ceramic) which many users find offensive or inelegant when brought into contact with food. Moreover, the rim fitting devices of the prior art, must be removed to enable the dinner plates with which they are used to be cleaned and then conveniently stacked one on top of another for storage when not in use.
It is apparent from the foregoing prior art known to applicant, that a long standing need exists for a dinner plate which includes as an integral part of the structure thereof a device for helping food to be transferred from the plate's surface to a utensil and which furthermore, enables several such similar plates to be conveniently stacked one upon another for easy storage when not in use. Such a need is completely fulfilled by the present invention. Many additional advantages of the present invention over the prior art will be rendered evident.